Buffalo lost their starting center two weeks ago, along with their starting right tackle. Rookie Cordy Glenn, who looks good, is starting at left tackle. The replacements for the two lost players are both having their 2nd career starts vs the Seahawks.

Scottemojo wrote:Buffalo lost their starting center two weeks ago, along with their starting right tackle. Rookie Cordy Glenn, who looks good, is starting at left tackle. The replacements for the two lost players are both having their 2nd career starts vs the Seahawks.

Interesting info.

What scares me about it? Every time people start talking about how bad the upcoming opponents offensive line is they become instant Jerry Cramer and make our guys look like crap.

Scottemojo wrote:Buffalo lost their starting center two weeks ago, along with their starting right tackle. Rookie Cordy Glenn, who looks good, is starting at left tackle. The replacements for the two lost players are both having their 2nd career starts vs the Seahawks.

Interesting info.

What scares me about it? Every time people start talking about how bad the upcoming opponents offensive line is they become instant Jerry Cramer and make our guys look like crap.

I'd almost rather play their very best and be done with it.

I was about to post the same exact thing. Every time we hear about opposing line troubles we end up getting very little pressure. Freaking Cutler had all damn day to throw.

Scottemojo wrote:Buffalo lost their starting center two weeks ago, along with their starting right tackle. Rookie Cordy Glenn, who looks good, is starting at left tackle. The replacements for the two lost players are both having their 2nd career starts vs the Seahawks.

Interesting info.

What scares me about it? Every time people start talking about how bad the upcoming opponents offensive line is they become instant Jerry Cramer and make our guys look like crap.

Scottemojo wrote:Buffalo lost their starting center two weeks ago, along with their starting right tackle. Rookie Cordy Glenn, who looks good, is starting at left tackle. The replacements for the two lost players are both having their 2nd career starts vs the Seahawks.

Interesting info.

What scares me about it? Every time people start talking about how bad the upcoming opponents offensive line is they become instant Jerry Cramer and make our guys look like crap.

I'd almost rather play their very best and be done with it.

The season opener in 'Zona comes to mind. As does the Miami game. I'd say Chicago too but we got the win and they used a lot of max protect to slow down our pass rush. The pass rush didn't look consistently great against Zona again this past Sunday but it got the job done.

I'm with you on this one Radish. Hopefully we can fix the problem on Sunday!

So was Chicago's O-line, and they improved massively by having some backups start. Their D-line has also improved as of late, and their better RB is now the every-down back for the first time in the game against us.

I don't like it. I'm still confident we'll win, but I think this is going to be a more hard-fought battle than most of us think.

RolandDeschain wrote:So was Chicago's O-line, and they improved massively by having some backups start. Their D-line has also improved as of late, and their better RB is now the every-down back for the first time in the game against us.

I don't like it. I'm still confident we'll win, but I think this is going to be a more hard-fought battle than most of us think.

cutler had all day to throw because they were keeping 8,9 guys in to max protect, and only sending out 1 or 2 guys on pass plays.. this has been brought up by many, i heard it first from schlereth... he said don't be dooped by the smoak and mirrors act, chicago's O line in terrible..

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

Well, the good news is that the Rams didn't have much trouble collapsing the pocket. And those of you pointing to the Bears game as sign we can't beat a depleted line should look a little closer. The Bears were so freaked about the pass rush that they kept 6, 7, and 8 blockers on almost every pass, and ran real tight linemen spreads too. All that time that Cutler had to throw was not because we have a lesser pass rush. It was because they were willing to trade targets for time, knowing that Cutler's arm could make those tight throws to Marshall.

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

The reason KJ isn't getting much pressure, has very little to do with his ability. It has more to do with the coaches refusal to BLITZ. We are one of the least blitzing teams in the league (AZ blitzes the most). Obviously in a perfect world you'd have a front 4 would could get constant pressure and you could drop 7 into coverage. That is the perfect defensive setup. Unforutnately we are inconsistent at doing so with just our 4 men.

When we do dial up a blitz we usually have good success. I'd like to see us blitz more, sending Wagner and Wright more often. If our secondary is really as good as we all hope they are and that they also are good press coverage players than blitzing should be beneficial. If you jam the WR's off the line and you send and extra rusher than you can really make the QB make bad decisions. Unfortunately we've relied too much on a 4 man rush.

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

The reason KJ isn't getting much pressure, has very little to do with his ability. It has more to do with the coaches refusal to BLITZ. We are one of the least blitzing teams in the league (AZ blitzes the most). Obviously in a perfect world you'd have a front 4 would could get constant pressure and you could drop 7 into coverage. That is the perfect defensive setup. Unforutnately we are inconsistent at doing so with just our 4 men.

When we do dial up a blitz we usually have good success. I'd like to see us blitz more, sending Wagner and Wright more often. If our secondary is really as good as we all hope they are and that they also are good press coverage players than blitzing should be beneficial. If you jam the WR's off the line and you send and extra rusher than you can really make the QB make bad decisions. Unfortunately we've relied too much on a 4 man rush.

I disagree. We are top 10 in sacks, and have the exact same number as the Niners. We are behind a few teams that blitz a ton in sack totals, but our Defense is better than most of those. Blitzing more is a dangerous way to get pressure.Sacks are an over rated stat. They matter, but not as much as you are saying.

FlyingGreg wrote:The reality is, our pass rush is just NOT on an elite level. It's better at home than on the road because of the built-in advantages of C Link.

Elite pass rushers get pressure on the road, in bad weather, no matter what. We don't have that.

I think we need to seriously consider another pass rusher in the draft, preferably a blitzing OLB type.

I'm with you 100% on this one, Greg.

I'm actually a little surprised that we haven't seen K.J. Wright blitzing more from his LB position. I remember hearing Pete and co. gush over Wright's ability to get to the QB and he looked impressive when allowed to do so last season.

I really hope the Hawks go OLB or WR in the 1st round in April. If I had to pick one, I'd lean towards OLB. Having that freak coming off the edge that can kill the QB ala Clay Matthews would be absolutely huge for this defense and what they're trying to do. Someone with speed, instincts, coverage skills, and the ability to consistently bring down the QB would put this defense over the top and make them a nightmare for opposing coaches.

The reason KJ isn't getting much pressure, has very little to do with his ability. It has more to do with the coaches refusal to BLITZ. We are one of the least blitzing teams in the league (AZ blitzes the most). Obviously in a perfect world you'd have a front 4 would could get constant pressure and you could drop 7 into coverage. That is the perfect defensive setup. Unforutnately we are inconsistent at doing so with just our 4 men.

When we do dial up a blitz we usually have good success. I'd like to see us blitz more, sending Wagner and Wright more often. If our secondary is really as good as we all hope they are and that they also are good press coverage players than blitzing should be beneficial. If you jam the WR's off the line and you send and extra rusher than you can really make the QB make bad decisions. Unfortunately we've relied too much on a 4 man rush.

I'm with you on this one my brotha! Good post. Creating pressure is the name of the game and if you can't get it from strictly the front 4 (Giants) than I agree that you've got to get creative and manufacture some heat to make life miserable on the opposing QB (Steelers, Cards among others)

I was salivating at the thought of added blitzes/pressure plus more press coverage from our DB's. Seems like an excellent combination. Hopefully we see more and more of it down the stretch and into the playoffs. Gus' Ace up his sleeve, if you will.

Scottemojo wrote:I disagree. We are top 10 in sacks, and have the exact same number as the Niners. We are behind a few teams that blitz a ton in sack totals, but our Defense is better than most of those. Blitzing more is a dangerous way to get pressure.Sacks are an over rated stat. They matter, but not as much as you are saying.

I agree that sacks are over rated, but pressure is not in my opinion.

Too many times this season the pass rush has disappeared for long stretches throughout games. We've also failed to create pressure in key moments of games as well, which has hurt. If we could just force the QB into a few more hurried throws, we might see some more forced turnovers, which had been a problem til the Zona laugher.

You're right, blitzing is a dangerous way to try and generate pressure. However, I think in the Hawks case I think it plays to their strengths on defense. Just an opinion though.

We already have a 6'4" 220lb rush LBer, hehe. That can't be right, he'd make Irvin look huge.

I was kidding about the kid from Wake Forest. Never seen him play or even heard of him before I ran a quick google search. I love how he's ranked 999 out of 249 OLB's. Didn't want to mention he who shall not be named